- 1 Inter vs Shakhtar Donetsk: no Lautaro, no points, and seven defeats in eight European games
- 2 Inter: the best attack in Serie A, and six goals conceded in two European games
- 3 Shakhtar Donetsk: five straight wins, top in Ukraine and two European goals for Mendoza
- 4 Free Champions League Prediction: Inter vs Shakhtar Donetsk
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
Inter vs Shakhtar Donetsk: no Lautaro, no points, and seven defeats in eight European games 
Lautaro Martínez won’t play for Inter again until after the November international break. The club confirmed a thigh strain last week, and the reports in Italy have him missing at least seven games, starting with Shakhtar on Wednesday and running through the Milan derby on 31 October.
He scored twice in the last Champions League game, on 44 and 82 minutes against Club Brugge. Inter still lost 4-3 at San Siro, with Tresoldi scoring a hat-trick and Vermant adding the fourth on 87 minutes. Bonny’s goal came in stoppage time.
That was the second defeat in two. Inter had already lost 2-1 at Real Madrid on the opening night, and the Brugge game was their seventh defeat in their last eight European matches.
The domestic picture couldn’t be more different. Cristian Chivu’s side lead Serie A with 19 points from seven games, unbeaten, and they won 3-1 at Bologna on Saturday without Lautaro, with Thuram, Carlos Augusto and Bonny scoring.
Shakhtar come to Milan with four points and a five-game winning run in all competitions. They beat AEK Athens 3-1 last week, the first win for a Ukrainian club in the league phase since 22 January 2025, and sit 11th.
Kick-off is 8pm UK time at San Siro. The history favours Inter: in five meetings since 2020 Shakhtar haven’t scored once, and Inter won the 2020 Europa League semi-final 5-0.
Inter: the best attack in Serie A, and six goals conceded in two European games 
Inter had scored 18 goals in six Serie A rounds before Bologna, the most in the league, and their 43 shots on target were also a league high. Three more on Saturday took them to 21.
The goals come at the other end too. They beat Udinese 5-3 in September and drew 2-2 at Roma, and six of their last seven matches have gone over 2.5 goals, with both teams scoring in five of them.
Europe has exposed it. Mbappé scored on 14 minutes at the Bernabéu and Valverde added a second before Carlos Augusto pulled one back on 78 minutes. Against Brugge, a penalty on 30 minutes started a night in which Inter conceded four at home.
Losing Lautaro changes the front line. Thuram and Esposito were the expected pairing at Bologna, and Bonny has scored in each of the last two games. The goals should still come: Inter average 2.6 per game.
Zero points from six leaves them with little room. A third defeat would put them in serious trouble in the race for the top 24, so I’d expect Chivu to play his strongest available side.
Since the 2-2 at Roma on 19 September, Inter have beaten Parma 3-0 and won 3-1 at Bologna, and the Bologna win came without their captain. The league form is holding. Europe is where the goals against keep coming.
Inter’s home form in all competitions shows four wins and that Brugge defeat in the last five. The 3-0 win over Parma on 10 October is the only home league clean sheet I can find this season.
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Shakhtar Donetsk: five straight wins, top in Ukraine and two European goals for Mendoza 
Arda Turan’s side have won five in a row. The run includes 3-0 at Veres, 3-1 against AEK and a 2-1 win over Kolos on Saturday, and they’re top of the Ukrainian Premier League.
The last defeat came on 29 August, 2-0 at home to Polissya. Since then they’ve won at Karpaty 2-1, beaten Chornomorets 2-0 and LNZ 3-0, and won 3-0 in the cup at Vilkhivtsi.
Gleiker Mendoza is their top scorer in the competition with two goals, including the third against AEK on 86 minutes. Kauã Elias, the striker, had three goals for the season by mid-October, and Pedrinho takes the penalties.
The AEK game is worth a closer look. Shakhtar went behind, needed a Pedrinho penalty on 34 minutes to level, and only took control after the 80th minute. On the opening night they drew 1-1 at PSV.
Irakli Azarovi and Eguinaldo were both injured before the AEK game, and I haven’t found any update on either. Shakhtar average 1.7 goals scored and 1.1 conceded per game this season.
Away from home they’ve won four of their last five, drawing the other. Scoring at San Siro is the test they’ve failed in every recent visit, but they’ve never come here facing an Inter defence that’s conceded six in two European games.
Probable lineup Inter: Josep Martínez; Bisseck, Akanji, Bastoni; Luis Henrique, Barella, Zielinski, Sucic, Dimarco; Esposito, Thuram
Probable lineup Shakhtar Donetsk: Riznyk; Pedro Henrique, Matviienko, Bondar, Vinícius Tobias; Ocheretko; Newerton, Marlon Gomes, Pedrinho, Alisson Santana; Kauã Elias
Free Champions League Prediction: Inter vs Shakhtar Donetsk
Our prediction: Both teams to score @ 1.75
I’m backing both teams to score at 1.75. Inter have conceded six goals in two Champions League games and lost seven of their last eight in Europe, while both teams have scored in five of their last seven matches overall.
Shakhtar have won five in a row, scored in each of their two European games and arrive with Mendoza and Pedrinho both scoring. The head-to-head is the one thing against this pick: Shakhtar didn’t score in any of the five meetings between 2020 and 2021.
I’d still back current form over that record. Inter without Lautaro remain the likelier winners, and they should score through Thuram and the midfield, but their back line has given up goals in almost every game this autumn. One for Shakhtar is enough.
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